“Where’d your mind go?”
“Nowhere. It’s just early, and you caught me off guard. Dad smoked weed?”
“Guess so. It is legal in Maine, so makes sense.”
The click of a lock and creaking hinges of the bathroom door in the hallway alerted them to Noah’s presence. He shuffled into the kitchen, scratching at his stomach absently. He paused at the sight of them and sniffed the air exaggeratedly.
“It smells loud in here. Does my nose deceive me?” He joined Ava in her stance next to the dining table, eyeing the table with interest.
“Lucas and I declared a truce. Apparently, Dad smoked weed; Lucas found the stash in his office.”
“Oh, thank God, I’m too tired to keep fighting this morning.” He threw an arm around Ava’s shoulders and gave her a side hug in reconciliation and offered Lucas a fist bump.
Lucas rolled his eyes but reciprocated.
“So, what are we doing about Dad’s stash?” Noah asked.
“Wake and bake? I know I could use it after the shit sleep I got last night,” Lucas replied.
“Hell yeah!” Noah grinned. “Ava?”
Getting high probably wasn’t the best idea given the circumstances, but it might help the tension rolling off her in the aftermath of her night with Owen. Physically and emotionally. “Why the hell not?”
“I can roll it up,” Noah offered. He took a seat at the table and pulled the rolling papers toward him, reaching to take the grinder from Lucas.
“Look at our baby brother, all grown up now, Lucy. Rolling joints like he’s a pro. When did you learn to do that?” Ava teased him.
“Don’t let the engineering degree fool you. We partied just as hard in college as you hospitality and business majors.”
Ava shared a look of amusement with Lucas, one of the first they’d shared since they’d arrived at the cabin.
“I’m getting myself coffee; I’ll meet you guys on the porch.” Ava turned away to prepare her morning coffee before settling into her favorite lounge chair on the porch. Her brothers filtered outside, Noah sinking into the chair next to her while Lucas leaned against the porch railing, facing them. Lucas lit the joint and closed his eyes on a deep inhale before exhaling in a puff of heady smoke. He repeated the action, then offered the joint to Ava.
“Why am I last? I rolled it,” Noah protested.
“Oldest to youngest, you know the rules,” Lucas replied.
Ava ignored their exchange in favor of taking her own hit. Like Lucas, her eyes fluttered shut of their own accord as she pulled a deep drag into her lungs. As the smoke curled in her throat, her shoulders dropped, releasing the tension threading through her body from the confusing mass of emotions. One more puff, then she passed to Noah.
“I feel like a teenager again, except now we don’t have to hide the smoke from Dad,” Ava said.
Noah smiled, shaking his head. “Except you guys would’ve excluded me. Told me I was too young or some other bullshit before running off with Summer and Owen. Sometimes Matt.”
“As the youngest, it was your duty to be left out for your own good. It evened out the fact you’re the favorite child,” Ava said.
“Bullshit,” Noah countered.
“Not bullshit. You’ve always been the favorite,” Lucas added, taking the joint from Noah to start the cycle again. “It’s certainly never been me. I’m the secret-keeper. The burden-bearer. But I’m not the one Mom and Dad were always proud of.”
Ava eyed Lucas as he busied himself with tapping the ash from the end of the joint over the railing.
“Do we need to get you high every time we want honesty from you?” Ava prodded him.
Lucas rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth tipped into a tiny smile before he blew out another plume of smoke. “You’re one to talk about honesty, Dodo.”
Ava accepted the joint once more and took a drag instead of responding to the dig. They were bordering on the territory of their fight the previous day.
“What does that mean?” Noah jumped to her defense.
